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Monday, March 7, 2011

PW Buttermilk Biscuits and Paula Deen Red Beans and Rice

Tonite I made Red Beans and Rice, yall!

I started out with dry beans, and I started soaking them yesterday, just like the book says, and damned if it still didn't take twice as long as the recipe said to cook until the beans were soft. This is why I never use dry beans!!! ugh. What a beating. But in the end? Still pretty good!

Along with them I made the PW Buttermilk Biscuits. I kind of had to make do a little, because I am still lacking some necessary kitchen equipment. You start out with the flour/baking soda etc. mixture, and then are supposed to "cut in" the butter and shortening with a pastry cutter (which I don't have) or 2 knives (um, yeah, not happening..) Anyhoo...I usually use my trusty food processor for this part. Except, it has gone to meet it's maker. And by maker, I mean the dumpster. It was a cheapo-brand that I was lucky enough to get 7 years out of, and now I'm saving up for the BIG DADDY that I really want. Still waiting. So, I just used my smaller one and did it in batches.

You just pulse it until the butter is in fine bits, much like you would do for any pastry or pie crust.

Then you stir in the buttermilk.

I didn't stir it that well, per the recipe, and when I turned it out I wound up having to knead it some because it was falling apart crumbly.

I eventually got it rolled out and used my "biscuit cutter" (aka large wilton circle fondant cutter).

I baked them on the lesser side of the time frame, and I still think they were a little over done. And a little dry. Not sure if it was my fault though. Pretty good, though. Very rustic.

2 comments:

Word of advice when buying a pastry cutter/blender - get one with thicker blades as the thin ones tend to break over time. They aren't that expensive - just checked Williams-Sonoma website and it is $10. I don't bake many pies, but I use it when I make scones. Try the vanilla bean scones on PW's website - she made them like Starbucks and they are quite tasty.